The Black Sea. (A storm begins to whip up in the Black Sea)

This work was found on the 'Art Project powered by Google' site. As part of my research in to Landscapes. Of course this is a Painting but I feel that it is relevant to my research because of the subject matter. This type of Art can be compared to the Photographic Landscapes being made. In fact it reminded me of ...... His work is so calm. In contrast this painting is full of passion and rage.

Much of Landscape photography focuses on calm scenes. Perhaps that is because of the horizontal lines of the horizon and lack of movement in general. Even long exposure photographs where the clouds have blurred and the grasses too, as the wind blows them, is calming to look at. This painting with all of the rage in the ocean waters is also very calming to look at. Which make me think that nature in general is calm even with its mood swings. Being at peace in Nature is something that can be felt. I do not believe that science knows or has figured out how to measure this phenomenon. We may be able to see light from stars light years away and compute what those stars are composed of but we can't measure peace or where it is coming from right here in front of us as we stare out across untouched landscapes.

(http://www.googleartproject.com/museums/tretyakov/the-black-sea-a-storm-begins-to-whip-up-in-the-black-sea-163#)

The Black Sea. (A storm begins to whip up in the Black Sea)

Черное море (на Черном море начинает разыгрываться буря)

1881

Ivan (Oganes) Ayvazovskiy (Gayvazovskiy), 1817-1900

oil on canvas
Height : 149.00 cm
Width : 208.00 cm

Located in: Room 19
Veiwing Notes:
Aivazovsky was the best known and most celebrated Russian artist of marine paintings. The sea appears in his paintings as something multifaceted. At times it is an element which is not subjected to any laws and which shatters man; at other times it is tempting in the distance, a symbol of Romantic dream. The viewer beholds an endless expanse of sea and infinite heavens above it. In the foreground there is a wave with whitecaps of foam - the "Aivazovsky wave" as his contemporaries called it. The palette is unusually rich. It brings together greens, silver tones, emerald tints and extends to the darkening deep blues at the horizon. In the centre we see a lone sailboat, symbol of man's insignificance before the universe and at the same time a sign of the Romantic Wanderlust.
Artwork History:
Acquired by Tretyakov P.M. from the author in 1881
Artist Information:

Ivan (Oganes) Ayvazovskiy (Gayvazovskiy) (Иван (Оганес) Константинович Айвазовский (Гайвазовский))

Active Period: 1817-1900

Painter, marinist, master of historical battle scenes dedicated to the Russian Navy, Biblical, New Testament and antique genres. Born into a family of Armenian merchants and an elder at the Feodosian market. Koch, a Feodosian architect, gave him his first lessons in painting and drawing. From 1833-1839 he studied at the Academy of Arts in the landscape class under M.Vorobiev and from 1835-1836 he continued his studies at the studio of French marinist F.Tanner. In 1836 he was awarded the small gold medal for his painting entitled "The Seaside in a St.Petersburg Neighbourhood" (1835), a year later he won the large gold medal for three seascapes and his painting entitled "Calm". He graduated from the Academy of Arts in 1839 with a first class degree and a scholarship to Europe. From 1840-1844 he visited Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain and Malta. He also travelled to the Middle East, Africa and America. In 1844 he returned to St.Petersburg before his scholarship expired. From 1844 Aivazovsky was a Full Member at the Academy of Arts and painter of the Chief Naval Headquarters. He was an honourable member of Academies of Arts in Amsterdam, Rome, Paris, Florence and Stuttgart. In 1887 he also became an honourable member at the Academy of Arts in St.Petersburg. In 1880 he opened an art gallery in Feodosia (today the I.Aivazovsky Feodosian Art Gallery) and when he died he bequeathed all the paintings on display in this Gallery to the city of Feodosia. He has been an honourable citizen of Feodosia since 1881. Aivazovsky's early work was populated by small sailing vessels and travellers admiring the vast sea from its shores. The turbulent movement of the water and the wonderful charm in the calmness are his favourite subjects. Some of his work reveals the influence of Syl.Shchedrin and K.Bryullov. The artist spent many years in his studio by the sea attentively observing the water. Aivazovsky mature work is usually on a large scale and contains dramatic plots. During the later period in the artist's creativity, his favourite themes depicted the romantic struggle between man and the elements in the form of the sea (The Rainbow, 1873), and so-called "blue marines" (The Bay of Naples in Early Morning, 1897, Disaster, 1898) and urban landscapes (Moonlit Night on the Bosphorus, 1894). Aivazovsky is one of the few Russian masters who received fame and recognition during his lifetime. The exhibitions of his paintings were held in many countries across the world, his portrait was on display at the famous Ufizzi Gallery in Florence in Italy. Aivazovsky created more than six thousand works